An 86-year-old man's routine drive took an unexpected plunge into a sinkhole Wednesday after his van collided with a fire hydrant in Attleboro, causing a geyser of trouble on County Street. Emergency services rushed to the site around 10:15 a.m, where they discovered the impromptu pit had swallowed the vehicle following a torrent of water unleashed by the damaged hydrant, as reported by a WHDH article.
Witnesses were stunned by the scene, Erin Grant, who lives near the crash site, saw the van "just kept going down and down and down", her daughter sprang into action to extract the van's driver from the escalating flood, according to her interview with 7NEWS, police arrived, and the driver was transported to Sturdy Memorial Hospital with minor injuries, in an aftermath which saw city crews grappling with the sinkhole and nearby roads being salted and sanded by Attleboro Department of Public Works to prevent further hazards, Attleboro Water Department did clarify the vehicle was retrieved and the road surface temporarily restored the same afternoon.
The man, who was returning from a visit to his hospitalized wife, told Grant he believed he might have blacked out before the incident, her recounting of his words provided to 7NEWS. Attleboro police have kept the crash under active investigation, with local authorities pushing for a swift replacement of the busted hydrant and permanent repair of the impacted street.
In a statement obtained by WJAR, police confirmed they responded promptly to the crash while city workers dealt with the immediate dangers posed by the rupture and the subsequent crater, noting the importance of the hydrant's replacement the statement ties together community safety with the effectiveness of city services, which were on full display as multiple departments converged to control the situation cautions remained as caution tape cordoned off the area into Wednesday night.
